By Bernt Nelson
The U.S. Government has now been shut down for 40 days, making it the longest shutdown event on record. Impacts are far reaching and range from halted disaster aid payments all the way to cancelled USDA reports and data products that are used by countless stakeholders all over the world. USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) and Cattle on Feed (COF) reports are two monthly reports that have huge impacts on markets and farmer and rancher decisions throughout the country.